Flyer for supply stands



July 8, 1958 v v. A. RAYBURN 2,842,323

I FLYER FOR SUPPLY STANDS Filed Sept. 3, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N I\ 3h z w l l a o v lq 0 m m a w M V a Q w 1 v w I v o m X.

(I) N o "3 lNl/ENTOR MA'RAYBURN ATTORNEY July 8, 1958 I v, RAYBURN2,842,323

FLYER FOR SUPPLY STANDS Filed Sept. 3, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

//vr//v TOR L A. RA YBURN ATTORNEY Patented July 8, 1958 ice FLYER FORSUPPLY STANDS Vincent A. Rayburn, Baltimore, Md, assignor to WesternElectric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of NewYork Application September 3, 1953, Serial No. 378,278 8 Claims. (Cl.242-1255) This invention relates to supply stands, and more particularlyto supply stands having fiyers for leading off filamentary materialbeing uncoiled therefrom.

Stationary supply stands from which a filamentary material, such assteel wire, is supplied continuously by an over-end pay-elf system, areusually provided with a rotatable-flyer for guiding the off-coming wire.A coil of wire, known in the trade as a bundle of wire, is heldstationary on the supply stand while the wire is pulled through thefiyer 03 one end of the coil. The flyer functions as a wire guide whichmoves restrainedly with the wire around the periphery of the coil aseach convolution thereof is pulled off. Although conventional fiyers arehelpful in reducing the occurrence of tangles and breaks, thesedifliculties still arise occasionally, especially when the convolutionsof the coil are not all perfectly concentric or the Wire is springy,as'isusually the case in bundles of hard-drawn wire'wound onthedrawblocks of'wire drawing machines.

An object of this invention is to provide new and improved supplystands.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved flyersfor preventing tangles in filaments being uncoiled from supply stands.

An apparatus illustrating'certain features of the invention may includean arbor designed to receive a coil of filamentary material, flyermounted rotatably on the arbor for guiding a filament being payed ofifrom the coil, andmeans for oscillating the flyer during its rotation toprevent tangles from occurring in the filament.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from thefollowing detaileddescription of apparatus forming a specific embodimentthereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary elevation of a supply stand having a fiyerembodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view taken. in the direction of the arrows2-2 of. Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary section taken along line 3-3 of Fig.2, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, perspective view of a wire guide forming aportion of the yer.

Referring to Fig. l, a pair of circular bundles -10 of steel Wire aremounted. on a pair of adjacent arbors, generally designated 12-12, whichare supported on top of a pair of fiat platforms 14-14 having legs 16-16designed to tilt the platforms toward each other. The inclination atwhichthe platforms 14-14 are tilted is such that projections of the axesof the bundleslil-lil thereon converge. upon a fixed eye 18 and arotatable sheave 20 which are secured to a beam 22'suspended directlyabove theplatforms.v The eye 18 is spaced equidistantly from the.platforms 14-14 so that wire being payed off from either one of thebundles 10-10 thereon, such as a leading end of wire 24 from the lefthand bundle as seen in Fig; l, willbe guidedto the sheave 2i) and thenpass around this sheave to a processing machine (not shown).

Each of the arbors 12-42 comprises a ring 26 having a plurality ofspokes 23-22% (Fig. 2), which extend radially outward from a central hub29. A radial arm 30 having a wire guide 32 secured to its outer end ismounted rotatably in the axial center of each ring 26, so as to functionas a fiyer, indicated generally at 15, in guiding wire being payed offfrom the bundles 10-10 thereof. Each ring 26 is provided with aplurality of arcuate prongs 34-34 which curve downwardly and inwardlyfrom points spaced equally around the periphery of the ring. The prongs34-34 bear against the inner periphery of the bundles 10-10 of wire andalso pass through a plurality of matching slots 36-36 formed in each ofthe platforms 14-14.

At a point intermediate its ends, each arm 30 is provided with a roller38 which functions as a cam follower riding on a circular cam 40 mountedconcentrically with respect to the ring 26 on the spokes 28-28 thereof.The cam 40 is provided with a series of alternately arranged lobes 42-42and dwells 44-44 (Fig. 3), which cause the arm 30 to oscillatevertically as it moves around the periphery of the ring 26 during itsrotation. Although eight sets of the lobes 42-42 and dwells 44-44 areemployed in the illustrated'embodiment of the invention, this number maybe varied to produce any desired frequency of oscillation per revolutionof the arm 30; Furthermore, the relative height of the lobes 42-4-2 maybe selected to attain the desired extent of vertical movement.

Each arm 30 is mounted pivotally as well as rotatably at the center ofits ring 26. The inner end of each arm 30 is provided. with a bifurcatedportion 46 (Fig. 3) journalled on a shaft 4% which is secured to a yoke50. A spiral, torsion spring 52 is'coiled about the shaft 48 in thebifurcated portion46ofthe arm3il. The outer end of the spiral spring 52is pinned to the arm 30, andthe inner end of this spring is pinned tothe shafti48. The spring 52 constantly urges the'arm 3i? downwardly,thereby keeping the roller 38- in contact with the cam 4i and preventingthe arm 3% from bouncing upwardly too far as the roller rides over thelobes 42-4-2 on the cam. Each yoke is secured to the upper endof. avertical shaft 54 (Fig. 3) journalled within a bearing 55 having ahousing 58 formed by a portion of the. hub 29 on the spokes. 28-28 ofthe ring 26, thereby rendering the. arm 30 capable of both rotation andoscillation.

In order to prevent the arm: 30 from rotating so fast thatthe wire guide32 may overrun the convolutions of wire being uncoiled, a controlledamount of frictional drag is applied to the shaft54as it turns withinthe hearing 56 when the arm 30 rotates. An annular brake lining.

6i) (Figv 3) rests on top of a disc 62 which is secured to the lower endof the shaft 54 bymeans of a nut 64. The lining 68 is interposed betweenthe disc 62 and an annular flange 66. which is splined to the housing 58of the bearing- 56. A coiled compression spring 68 encircles the housing58 of the bearing 56 and urges thefiange 66 downwardly towards the disc62, thereby compressing the lining iii between them. The flange 66 isprevented from rotating on the housing 58 by means of a key 70, but thedisc 62 rotates with the shaft 54 as thearm 30 rotates. Thus, thecompression of the lining by the nonrotating flange 66 createsfrictional drag on the rotation of the disc 62.

The amount, of frictional drag is controlled by adjusting a plurality ofset screws 72-72 which extend threadedly through the hub 29 at pointsspaced uniformly,

around the bearing housing 58. The set screws 72-72 bear upon and pressdown an annular collar 74 which abuts the upper end of the coiled spring68. After the the set screws 72-72; which in turn varies the compression of the'brake lining60, thereby controlling;- the frictionaldrag applied to the movement of the wireguide 32.

As shown in Fig. 4, the wire guide 32 includes a pair of generallyC-shaped portions 73-78 alined vertically and disposed in parallelhorizontal planes spaced a short distance apart. One of the C-shapedportions 73-78 lies above the ring 26 and the other C-shaped portionlies below the ring, in order to guide the leading end of the wire 24around the ring without allowing the wire to touch the ring. The pair ofC-shaped portions 78-78 are connected by a slotted portion 80 which runsdiagonally between the opposite ends of the C-shaped portions andcommunicates with the gaps in their C-shaped configuration.

The C-shaped portions 78-78 and the slotted portion 80 of the wire guide32 are made in the form of a one-piece integral structure, by twisting asingle length of rod into the proper configuration and butt-welding itsends together. The resulting rod structure defines the peripheral edgesof a short length of tubing, oval in cross-section and having a diagonalslot on one side thereof. The wire guide 32 functions in the same waythat such a diagonally slotted tube would function, but offers theadvantage of having less weight. Similarly, the ring 26 and the arm 30may be constructed from hollow tubing to reduce their weights.

The wire guide 32 is supported at the outer end of the arm 30 in suchmanner that its position may be adjusted in several different ways. Alink 82 Fig. 3) threadedly engages the arm 30 and is secured by a blt'84to a dog ear 86 which is welded to the upper one of the C-shapedportions 78-78 of the wire guide 32. By rotating the link 82 on the arm30, the wire guide 32 may be moved radially inwardly or outwardly withrespect to the ring 26, and also may be turned to swing the lower one ofthe C-shaped portions 78-78 arcuately upward either to lead or to trailthe direction in which the wire guide is moving. Another adjustment isperformed by swinging the wire guide 32 about the bolt 84 as a pivot, tolead or to trail the direction in which it is moving.

Operation As in the case of conventional supply stands, after initiallyloading the bundles -10 of wire onto the pair of platforms 14-14 andplacing the arbors 12-12 thereon, the wire is taken from the arborsalternately. That is, the wire is taken from one of the pair of arbors12-12 while the other one of the arbors is kept in standby condition.The leading end of the wire on this standby arbor is joined by welding,or otherwise, to the trailing end of the wire on the bundle then beinguncoiled. The moment the bundle being uncoiled becomes exhausted,pay-01f operations are shifted automatically to the other arbor. Theoperator then places another bundle of wire on the exhausted arbor,which now becomes the standby arbor. In this manner, the wire issupplied continuously without interruption from a plurality of separatebundles which are unconnected until they are placed on the supply stand.

When one of the arbors 12-12 becomes exhausted, it is a simple matterfor the operator to place a new bundle of wire thereon. The ring 26 isgrasped manually and elevated to pull the prongs 34-34 completely out ofthe slots 36-36. Then the new bundle of wire is placed fiat on theplatform 14, the prongs 34-34 are reinserted into the slots 36-36, andthe ring 26 is lowered until the prongs bear against the inner peripheryof the bundle of wire.

As the wire is payed off, the bundles gradually become smaller than thefull sized bundles illustrated in Fig. l, and the prongs 34-34 arethereby freed to slide gradually further down through the slots 36-36.The effect of this action is to keep the wire guide 32 of the fiyer 15close to the remaining portion of the bundle of wire by moving the ring26 downwardly as the bundle gradually becomes depleted. It has beenfound that keeping the wire guide close to the convolution of wire beinguncoiled in this manner is helpful in eliminating the occurrence oftangles. Furthermore, by having the arbors 12-12 sink down in thismanner as the coils thereon are unwound, the remaining convolutions ofwire are held firmly in position on the platforms 14-14.

The bundles 10-10 of wire are held stationary on the arbors 12-12 whilethe processing machine (not shown) pulls the wire off. As eachconvolution leaves, the force of the wire 24 passing through and againstthe inner surface of the wire guide 32 makes the arm 30 turn onerevolution about the ring 26 of the arbor. As viewed in Fig. 2, the arm30 rotates in a clockwise direction. The wire guide 32 may be adjustedto make the lower one of the C-shaped portions 78-73 thereof lead theconvolution of wire being unwound from the coil 10. In order to keep thearm 30 from rotating too fast, so that the wire guide 32 will notoverrun the convolution of wire being unwound, the brake lining is usedto apply frictional drag to the rotation of the shaft 54 which rotateswith the arm 30. The amount of frictional drag is varied as desired byadjusting the set screws 72-72 and the lock nuts 76-76.

During its rotation around the ring 26, the wire guide 32 is caused tooscillate vertically by the movement of the roller 38 on the circularcam 40. The outer end of the arm 30 alternately rises and falls as theroller 38 moves across the alternately positioned lobes 42-42 and dwells44-44 on the cam 40, while the inner end of the arm merely pivots withinthe yoke 50. The torsion spring 52 constantly urges the roller 38 intocontact with the cam 40 and prevents the arm 30 from bouncing upwardlyan excessive distance during its oscillation.

The oscillating movement of the fiyer 15 is effective to prevent tanglesand breaks in the wire being taken from the bundles 10-10, especiallywhen the convolutions of wire in the bundles are not all perfectlyconcentric. The hank-wound bundles of wire produced on the draw blocksof commercial wire drawing machines usually are not concentric.Depending upon the gage of the wire in the bundle, each bundle maycontain from about 5 up to about 25 banks of wire. The length of wirewhich connects one hank to another in the bundle may extend from theinside to the outside of the bundle. This condition is known in thetrade as false cross-over. It is an inevitable result of the manner inwhich the wire is coiled as it emerges from the wire drawing machines.Each time a false cross-over" is encountered in taking wire from thesupply stand, there is a possibility that the adjacent convolution ofwire may become fouled and snubbed, and thereby snap taut with suchsuddenness that the wire may break.

In supply stands embodying the invention, the oscillating movement ofthe fiyer 15 shakes the off-coming convolution as it is unwound from thebundle by alternately increasing and decreasing the tension on the wireto a slight extent at regular intervals. This movement appliesadditional tension intermittently in a regular series of small jerks,which are sufficient to loosen any snagged convolution of wire before amuch larger tension caused by snagging will be applied.

The wire guide 32 on the fiyer 15 is designed to retain the wire 24until the bundle it is being taken from becomes exhausted, and then toallow the wire to slip easily through the slotted portion of the wireguide. In this manner the uncoiling operation is shifted readily fromthe exhausted arbor to the other arbor, on which a full bundle iswaiting to be unwound. The inclination of the diagonally slotted portion80 is fixed at the proper angle to allow the wire to slip out of theC-shaped portions 78-78 of the guide 32 only when this shift occurs. Thedotted lines on Figure,4 show the position of the wire 24 just prior toits transfer from one arbor to the other.

It is evident that supply stands embodying the invention are not limitedto usein paying off steel wire. The invention may be used advantageouslyin handling filaments, strands or threads composed of'other materials,such as linen, cotton, rayon or synthetic plastic yarn, and wirescomposed of other metals, or alloys.

What is claimed is:

1. A supply stand for paying ofi filaments from coils thereof, whichcomprises a substantially upright arbor designed to extend axially intoandreceive sucha coil, a substantially horizontal arm having one endmounted rotatably and pivotally onthe top ofthe arbor and having itsother end free to be rotated around the arbor by a filament as it ispayed off from the coil, a wire guide mounted on the free end of the armfor guiding the filament being payed oil? from the coil, a circular cammounted on the top of the arbor, and a cam follower carried by the armin contact with the cam for oscillating vertically the end of the arm onwhich the wire guide is mounted during rotation of the arm, therebypreventing tangles from occurring in the filament.

2. A supply stand for paying off filaments from coils thereof, whichcomprises a substantially upright arbor designed to extend axially intoand receive such a coil, a substantially horizontal arm having one endmounted rotatably and pivotally in the center of the top of the arborand having its other end free to be rotated around the arbor by afilament as it is payed 01f from the coil, a wire guide mounted on thefree end of the arm for guiding the filament being payed off from thecoil, a circular cam having a plurality of alternate lobes and dwellsmounted on the top of the arbor, and a cam follower carried by the armand arranged to ride over the lobes and dwells of the cam to oscillatevertically the end of the arm on which the wire guide is mounted duringrotation of the arm, thereby preventing tangles from occurring in thefilament.

3. A supply stand for paying off wire from coils thereof, whichcomprises a platform designed to support such a coil, a ring mountedremovably on the platform above a coil supported thereon, means mountedrotatably in the center of the ring, a horizontal arm having one endmounted pivotally on the rotatable means and having its other end freeto be rotated around the ring by a wire as it is payed off from thecoil, a wire guide mounted on the free end of the arm for guiding thewire being payed oflf from the coil, a circular cam mountedconcentrically within the ring, a cam follower carried by the arm andarranged to ride upon the cam during rotation of the arm around thering, said cam having a plurality of alternate lobes and dwells whichcause the arm to oscillate vertically during its rotation therebypreventing tangles from occurring in the wire, and a spring connectingthe arm and the first-mentioned means for urging the cam follower intocontact with the cam.

4. A supply stand for paying off wire from coils thereof, whichcomprises a platform having a plurality of slots spaced in a circle nearthe inner periphery of such a coil supported thereon, a ring having aplurality of prongs designed to pass axially through the coil and extendinto the slots in the platform, a horizontal arm having one end mountedpivotally and rotatably in a yoke positioned in the center of the ringand having its other end free to be rotated around the ring by a wire asit is payed off from the coil, a wire guide mounted on the free end ofthe arm for guiding the wire being payed off from the coil, a circularcam mounted concentrically within the ring, a cam follower carried bythe arm and arranged to ride upon the cam during movement of the armaround the ring, said cam having a plurality of alternate lobes anddwells which pivot the arm during its rotational movement to oscillatevertically the wire guide,

6. thereby preventing tangles from occurring in the wire, a torsionspring secured to the arm within the yoke for urging the cam followerinto contact with the, cam, and means for applying frictional drag tothe rotation of the arm toprevent the wire guide from overrunning theconvolutions of wire being unwound.

5. A supply stand for paying 01f wire from coils thereof, whichcomprises a flat platform having a plurality of slots spaced in a circlenear the inner periphery of such a coil supported thereon, an uprightarbor mounted removably on the platform and extending axially throughthe coil supported thereon, said arbor having a hollow ring providedwith a plurality of radial spokes and having a plurality of arcuateprongs extending inwardly and downwardly from the ring so as to passthrough the slots in the platform and rest against the inner peripheryof the coil. supported thereon, a yoke mounted on the spokes in thecenter ofthe ring, a fiyer having its inner end mounted pivotally androtatably within the yoke and having its outer end free to be rotatedaround the ring by a wire as it is payed otf from the coil, a wire guidesecured to the outer end of the fiyer for guiding the wire being payedoff from the coil, a circular cam mounted on the spokes concentricallywith respect to the ring, a cam follower carried by the fiyer andarranged to ride upon the cam during rotation of the fiyer, said camhaving a plurality of alternate lobes and dwells which cause the fiyerto oscillate vertically during its rotation, thereby preventing tanglesfrom occurring in the wire, a torsion spring secured to the fiyer withinthe yoke for urging the cam follower into contact with the cam, andmeans for applying frictional drag to the rotation of the fiyer toprevent the wire guide from overrunning the convolutions of wire beingunwound.

6. In a supply stand for paying oif wire from coils thereof including apair of upright arbors designed to extend axially into and receive apair of such coils while a wire is being unwound continuously from themalternately, said arbors being inclined toward each other and alignedwith a sheave suspended above and equidistant from the arbors so thatthe wire may be pulled from either one of the arbors and guided to thesheave, the improvement which comprises a pair of horizontal flyers onefor each arbor, each fiyer having one end mounted pivotally androtatably on top of its associated arbor and having the other end freeto be rotated around the arbor by a Wire as it is payed 01f from'a coil,a pair of circular cams one for each arbor mounted on top of the arbors,a pair of cam followers carried by the flyers and arranged to ride uponthe cams during rotation of the flyers, said cams having a plurality ofalternate lobes and dwells which oscillate the flyers during theirrotation, thereby preventing tangles from occurring in the wire, each ofsaid flyers having mounted on its free end a wire guide comprising apair of generally C-shaped members positioned in generally horizontalplanes one above the other so that the interrupted portion of eachC-shaped member faces away from the center of the arbor, and a pair ofsubstantially parallel rods so connecting the C-shaped members as toform a diagonal slot extending from the interrupted portion of oneC-shaped member to the interrupted portion of the other G-shaped member,the slot being slanted downwardly opposite to the direction of rotationof said arm as wire is payed oil? from the coil.

7. A fiyer for an over-end pay-01f system of uncoiling and paying offwire from a substantially upright supply stand, which comprises an armhaving its inner end mounted rotatably on the supply stand and above thecoiled wire at an axis of rotation, a wire guide secured to the outerend of said arm, said wire guide comprising a pair of generally C-shapedmembers positioned in generally horizontal planes one above the other sothat the interrupted portion of each C-shaped member faces away from theaxis of rotation of said arm, and a pair of substantially parallelmembers so connecting the C-shaped members as to form a diagonal slotextending from the interrupted portion of one C-shaped member to theinterrupted portion of the other C-shaped member, the slot being slanteddownwardly opposite to the direction of rotation of said arm.

8. A flyer for an over-end pay-off system of uncoiling and paying offwires from a substantially upright supply stand, which comprises an armhaving an inner end mounted rotatably on the supply stand and above thecoiled wire at an axis of rotation, and a wire guide secured to the endof the arm away from the axis of rotation, said wire guide comprising asingle endless rod twisted to define the continuous edge of asubstantially upright tubular member having a diagonal slot on the sidethereof, the slot slanted downwardly opposite to the direction ofrotation of said arm and the slot being on Q o the portion of thetubular member which faces outwardly from the axis of rotation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS817,883 Smythe Apr. 17, 1906 1,966,532 Williams July 17, 1934 2,298,345Childs Oct. 13, 1942 2,328,541 Bachlotte Sept. 7, 1943 2,349,873 LisyMay 30, 1944 2,390,157 Kramer Dec. 4, 1945 2,390,158 Kramer Dec. 4, 19452,514,264 Soper July 4, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 615,340 Great Britain Jan.5, 1949

